Diary of a journeyman

‘I bet you spend a lot of time on the train’ is the usual comment I get when I tell anyone about my job. And they’re not wrong. Since August I’ve been WEA lead director for London and South West Regions as well as being overall lead for curriculum and provision. So I  do spend a fair amount of time travelling back and fro  whilst still living in the West Midlands.

Doing this has prompted me to think afresh about the nature of work communities, communicating in a very dispersed organisation, and differences and similarities,

London region’s spacious centre is five minutes from Liverpool Street and just over a couple of hours from home; it serves as a learning centre and meetings’ venue as well as an open-plan staff workplace. Most of the tutor organisers are based here so there’s a work community and plenty of informal contact between us. I’ve mainly worked with the management team to sort some of the immediate problems around the building and filling some of the gaps in the staffing structure. There’s lots of adult education going on in London but I was attracted to working there because I can’t believe there isn’t scope for lots, lots more.

South West region, needless to say, is much more spread out. The meetings, admin and management centre is in Exeter; the accommodation is more compartmentalised so there seems less informal contact between people. The region reaches from the Cotswolds down to Lands End and we have a widespread presence with lots of provision in Plymouth and Bristol. The distances involved mean that it takes me longer to get to know the people in the region and groups of staff only come together occasionally for prearranged meetings.

 Getting to know two new regions (previously I was just based in the West Midlands) is shifting my perspective on the organisation. There is a lot that people have in common; the day to day work of organising and supporting adult education is absorbing and those doing it have a strong commitment and ownership of it. This gives the organisation a real resilience. There are  lots of examples of challenging and interesting provision that I hadn’t previously heard about. For example SW do a lot of arts based work with groups recovering from substance abuse. London have a link up with an organisation of domestic workers who come along every Sunday for a variety of educational activities. It’s fascinating to think about what has led to the initiation and sustaining of these programmes.

At the same time it’s striking how dealing with the highly complex funding and inspection methodologies are part of our DNA and dominate so much of discussion and planning. We take this for granted and I know it is necessary but it can obstruct looking at problems and concerns from a straightforwardly educational perspective. It may mean that something  fairly simple and immensely valuable- the  organising of lots of informal courses in response to the needs of different local communities – can become very complicated. Moreover, the dispersed and diverse nature of the organisation does make it difficult to develop a common understanding and practice.

Most evenings I check the dashboard on my blog to see if anyone’s reading it. Blogging seems to me a good way to communicate in a dispersed organisation. It’s an opportunity both to report on activities and to float ideas and get some feedback. I usually aim for about 750 words- long enough to develop an argument but can be read quickly. Several hundred view each blog with some subjects (such as ESOL and IfL) attracting more interest than others from outside the WEA. My Corsica blog attracts a steady trickle and is the main one referred by search engines. It’s not really adult education but it illustrated to me the power of a well led group to enable you to achieve what you doubted was possible. So perhaps it is education. I also tweet intermittently; Twitter’s a good source of information and links and a way of letting people know what you’re doing. It’s been described as eavesdropping on conversations; again it’s there if you want it and another way of communicating .

Back to journeys. I actually quite enjoy being on a train and can usually work with a laptop, writing or reading, I don’t particularly like phone conversations partly because you keep losing the signal and also I feel a bit self conscious going on about the WEA in front of strangers.

However after a few months I’m beginning to feel that the journey from home to the regional offices has become a familar corridor and I am unconnected with the environment in which the actual work takes place. This year I’m hopeful I can really help to develop the organisation but I’m going to have to get out more. I want to see more classes and meet more students, voluntary members, tutors and partners as well as getting a better sense of the geography of these two great regions.

Curriculum plans for 2012

This is a quick up-date on curriculum and provision plans for the first part of 2012. As usual comments and questions are welcome- just post them on the blog.

Firstly Nicky Read has been appointed as Curriculum Manager to work in this area. I look forward to working with her in this important area of activity. Nicky was previously a management team member in Yorkshire and Humberside region and will start her new role in the near future.

It’s been agreed that we’ll go ahead with pilot ‘lead regions’ in three curriculum areas: Health and Well-being, Community Arts and Media and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Each of the lead regions (West Midlands, South West and Southern)  has a significant volume of provision and a successful track record in that area. The idea of a pilot (that will be evaluated at the end of this academic year) is to find effective ways to share experience and practice, build and nurture practitioner networks and develop curriculum and approaches to learning. It was felt that the lead region pilot would also provide the best context to explore the idea of project/social purpose planning methodology. All three of these areas attract substantial numbers of learners and have huge potential to explore within the curriculum the contribution of adult learning to community development and social action. I’m really pleased that this pilot can now get off the ground and look forward to working on it.

In addition it was agreed to initiate (or confirm) a number of curriculum networks, again to be led by a particular region with an established expertise in that area.  Active Citizenship and Women’s Education both connect significantly with our commitment to equality and democratic citizenship and this provides a way for the experience of two regions (Yorkshire and Humber and East Midlands) to provide focus and drive to expand them. We also wanted to continue two valuable existing networks for Community Interpreting (London) and ICT (East Midlands) and to talk with the Trade Union/Workplace Learning network about how best to develop their work.

The general feeling amongst Skills for Life practitioners was that an operationally focused network (as currently exists) is essential given the particular requirements of that curriculum area. Provision of continuing support for the current network will therefore be a priority.

This is a bit ‘nuts and bolts-ish’ to ensure that people are kept in the loop. I’ll follow it up soon with a more in-depth blog that picks up on some of points in recent debates around curriculum, equality and social purpose. I’m also planning a ‘diary of a journeyman’ that gives some reflection on my WEA work.

Happy New Year to all

Curriculum leadership, diversity and social purpose: part 2

There have been lots of valuable comments on my earlier blog; they’re well worth a read. Taking these (and other feedback) into account I’m thinking of refining my approach a bit.

However, it’s worth re-stating the starting point. We need to find ways to ensure that we rise to the challenge of ‘Equality and Inclusivity’, the 2011 Conference themes. To do this we need a curriculum that is challenging, critical and provides context; my proposals are designed to provide a framework or platform that encourages this to develop.

I remain convinced that effective curriculum leadership, as opposed to the management of teaching and learning processes, is essential and that this can best be provided on a devolved basis. This will make use of existing teams, experience and enthusiasm and generate a collaborative approach based on successful practice. Leadership and collaboration will be needed if we are to develop the critical and contextualised approach to different subjects that many people want.

However I can see that an approach of immediately devolving the ‘top ten’ (by volume) subject areas might be a bit mechanical for two reasons. Firstly people need to be convinced that there is a reciprocity of interest involved; that it is worth the while of a team in a particular region putting a lot of effort into supporting and encouraging others in developing that subject area. This is Richard Crisp’s sceptical point. This leads me to think of a pilot project, starting with those willing and able to give it a go. Secondly I’m not sure we should be over guided by volume or necessarily by subject area (as opposed to student group). A strong case has been made for reviving a focus on women’s education and also workplace learning. There are also subject areas that are essential to the Association’s future development (as opposed to current practice) or specialist ones that lend themselves to leadership and co-ordination. So my idea is to kick off with a pilot project around selected curriculum areas. I do not want however to put change on the back burner as curriculum direction lies at the heart of current debates within and without the WEA (and as Mary Hunter points out, they have been going on some time).

The notion of a ‘social purpose’ or ‘project’ methodology has been welcomed; I used the term ‘social purpose’ really to highlight how we need a methodology that focuses on social outcomes and impact. Jol Miskin’s comments illustrate well how this can provide a framework for  imaginative local programmes, in that case linking art and community involvement.  The approach also addresses localism; a wide range of different educational responses is needed to meet local circumstances (Derek Metters). I welcome a diverse WEA; we should share things more but not aim for a standard offer.

The difficulties with the approach seem to lie with putting it alongside the main contract  and finding space, given the pressures on organising staff (Chris Sanders). Okay, these are difficult challenges especially as it’s hard to see overall resources increasing in the medium term. The Association as a whole needs to think about priorities and investing in these if change is desired. I certainly think that regions ought to (and often do) concentrate on priority areas where they feel they can make a difference. This worked in West Midlands with health education; we established a virtuous circle which attracted resources that helped us bring in more staff and expertise which enabled us to enhance our reputation…Essentially I’m saying regions will have to play to their strengths and try to get some economies of scale and team working to get the thing going.

Hopefully this post will keep the discussion going and look forward to hearing from you.

Pete

PS interesting that Lee Davies is leaving IfL

Getting a diverse ‘social purpose’ curriculum

I’ve been given responsibility for Curriculum and Provision within the WEA and want to share some thinking and invite comment. Whilst the focus is on the WEA comment  is welcome from all with an interest in adult education.

It is a good time to be debating the future shape and direction of our adult learning curriculum.  We are living through turbulent times with widespread questioning of established institutions and ideas. This presents a challenge for adult educators in attempting to inform an understanding of events and action to influence them. Additionally, publicly funded organisations  need to  justify their expenditure and demonstrate its beneficial impact on individuals and communities. In the  WEA  we want, as a leading adult education organisation,  to be confident we are using our limited resources effectively and demonstrating convincingly the value of our work.

Below are proposals to devolve curriculum leadership and pilot a ‘social purpose’ planning methodology; these changes are intended to create the conditions for a more innovative and challenging curriculum.

Devolution of the curriculum

 Diversity in curriculum is a good thing but we don’t make enough of it. What we do where has evolved in response to a range of factors such as history, gaps in local education markets and the expertise and enthusiasm of staff, learners, members and partners. We’re looking at a mosaic not a standardised offer. But these localised and regional strengths can be built upon by asking WEA regions with a particular strength to lead across Association. Such leadership could provide support to other regions, development of the subject area into new directions, and dissemination, building our reputation and profile.

 The benefits to the Association as a whole are evident but the ‘lead region’ will also gain by recognition of its expertise and broadening of its identity beyond  geographical location.

 There is a question for the Association: what curriculum areas should be devolved? This is partly a question of capacity (need people, volume and expertise) and partly one of priorities for the future. 

 Social purpose planning

 Curriculum planning is a complex process fashioned by tensions between the demands of the funding and regulatory regimes on the one hand and ‘responding to local need’ on the other. I have blogged about the refreshing and invigorating impact of projects where educational activities address a clearly defined set of identified needs and desired outcomes, for the individual and the community.

It is commonly felt that ‘projects’ are more innovative and embody a clearer sense of social purpose than ‘mainstream’ provision; the problem is their short term nature.  I would like to see a position in which the mainstream is continually refreshed by work that starts off as a local project. Obviously some projects, being experimental, won’t succeed and will remain temporary. At the other end of the spectrum we need to find ways for longstanding provision to be sustained outside of the main funding framework. Some of the recent discussion on learning circles touched on this.

The idea then is to pilot the use of a project (or social purpose) methodology within mainstream provision. This would mean shifting local programmes of work away from the notion of ‘delivery’ to that of  ‘projects’ that address  identified areas need such as supporting people take up volunteering activities, improve their health and fitness, become more involved with their children’s education etc. The programme structure and reporting would focus on these outcomes in addition to retention and success rates.

This approach will help us think through how our programmes connect with social purpose and spark considerable innovation at a local level as well as build organisational capacity in ‘project development’. Externally, it ought to lead to a constant stream of reports that demonstrate the impact and social purpose of adult education.

I can see that implementing this approach will be a challenge but feel that it could hold the key to further improving our curriculum and we should therefore give it a go.

As ever, comments and questions are very welcome.

Tutor Qualifications, IfL and adult education

The Government’s decision to review qualifications for Further Education (FE) teachers and the Institute for Learning (IfL) is welcome news for adult educators. Hopefully it will give us the opportunity to unpick the current unwieldy arrangements and help construct something better and more suitable for adult education.

Adult tutors are a diverse occupational group. They bring a wide variety of expertise and backgrounds to their teaching and their employment status and career aims differ greatly. For many being a tutor is one way in which to share a specialism, interest or passion; the capacity of adult education to draw on the ‘renowned local expert’ is frequently recognised.  For the individual, tutoring may be a minor (albeit important) part of their work lives, it may be part of a wider portfolio or it may be the main source of income and career development.

At the same time the experience of adult tutoring has many common features. Employment is usually insecure, work is often isolated and considerable self sufficiency is needed. The dispersed nature of adult education provision means that for most learners the tutors ‘is the provider’. As the front line staff member, s/he has to respond to a range of operational and pastoral issues as well as academic ones.  Many adult tutors feel that although they are at the centre of the learners’ experience, they are at the edge of organisational policy making and priority setting.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) are essential in bridging this gap and building a work community in which the rich traditions and expertise within adult education are able to benefit adult learners and tutors.  Additionally the isolated nature of the work reinforces the value of professional networks and other opportunities to collaborate and share ideas and practices.

So what is the problem? My feeling is that whilst the drive to professionalise the FE workforce has given welcome recognition to the value and importance of the work and the need for consistently high standards, adult education has been swept up in a system designed for FE colleges that had in turn been modelled on school teaching. It is too rigid and top-down to address the needs, experience and ethos of adult education.

So what should we look for?

• I would start by reaffirming the importance of effective ITT and CPD within adult education. We don’t want a collapse into a completely de-regulated adult community learning sector where everyone does their own thing. This would abandon the possibility of a large and vibrant community of adult educators that shared and developed professional practice.
• We need to design an ITT and CPD system that builds upon research into the needs and experiences of adult tutors and is provided in ways that are appropriate to their work commitments and career intentions.
• I think we must accept that any professional organisation needs to be built from the bottom up and  be based on collaboration, reciprocity and voluntary membership; something that is ‘owned’ by its members and articulates their interests. The compulsory nature of IfL membership underlies much of the hostility to it amongst many adult tutors.
• Quite rightly, the main responsibility must lie with those that employ adult tutors to be real ‘learning organisations’. This means encouraging a learning culture and facilitating its growth as well as ensuring teaching staff take part and recording their participation. As organisations that specialise in adult learning, providers are well placed to promote teaching and learning methods – such as active and discussion-based learning – that are most appropriate both to their learners and for their educational missions.
• Finally the provision of CDP needs to achieve a balance between organisational priorities on the one hand and facilitating tutors in identifying and meeting their own CDP needs on the other. It is right that CPD should promote the priorities and requirements of the providing organisation but it is also right that it should be used to encourage teaching staff to think about their own development and be supported in pursuing it.

By the way, whilst I am employed by the WEA, these views are my own. Hopefully others will join in with their thoughts.

Opportunity to build community ESOL

The widespread campaign to defend ESOL sparked by proposed funding changes announced last November has born some fruit. Whilst the amount of funding remains unchanged the rules around eligibility have been relaxed to include those on means tested benefits that are not work-ready (where the course has a vocational relevance.)

In addition the commitment to provide Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) funding for ‘community ESOL’ is beginning to take shape. The Association of Colleges has been asked to advise on this, Local Authorities, NIACE and the WEA are also involved. DCLG’s focus is on integration and the engagement of the most deprived members of settled communities. It is likely that ‘project proposals’ will be sought from providers in identified local authority areas.

However, there remains a need to continue to make the case for finding the money by providing evidence that English language provision can make a real difference to how people feel about, and take part in their communities. Providers, including the WEA, are being asked to provide this evidence, both quantitative and individual and group case histories. This needs to be done quickly.

The amount of money is not great (it’s in the £5-10m range) but I think we need to seize the opportunity. It is well worthwhile, partly because of the involvement of DCLG and local authorities and also because of the recognition of the value of English language learning in a community cohesion context. DCLG under the previous government sponsored some important adult educational activities and this provides an opportunity to demonstrate once again the relevance of adult education to the integration agenda, at a formative period.

I have argued before that there is, and should be, a distinctive community ESOL strand: taking place in community settings, with a lighter touch assessment and having outcomes that focus on different forms of community involvement. This strand must, of course connect, through partnerships and progression pathways, to ‘mainstream’ qualification-based ESOL. Our experience with WEA ESOL learners (and the WEA is the ‘college’ with the largest number of ESOL learners) suggests there is a ready demand for this sort of provision and we should champion their cause.

Comments are very welcome but I am also asking for good case study examples to be sent as soon as possible to help us push on with the case for community ESOL.

Walking the GR20, the Corsican high mountain route

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early morning sun on the Bavella Needles, seen from the Asinoa mountain refuge

I’m recently returned from walking GR20 described as the most challenging long distance mountain trek in Europe. It’s an iconic walk and – for me – was an intense and worthwhile experience.

During my 64 years I’ve done and enjoyed plenty of mountain walking in the UK (especially the Lakes) as well as in France and some of the Mediterranean islands. However these had mostly been day walks and this was more demanding in several ways:
- Walking all day every day for twelve days (6-9 hours a day);
- Lots of sharp ascents and descents with some technical bits, often exposed
- Accommodation quite basic and having to carry overnight gear on half the days
- The walk is very exposed to the elements; we had hot sunny weather the whole time so lots of factor 40 sun cream and 2-3 litres of water day were needed. We didn’t experience the storms or very cold nights that can be a feature of Corsican mountain summers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breche do Capitella (Boca alle Porte): Rugged ridges and bright sunshine

The appeal lay partly in this challenge along with the opportunity to experience the marvellous Corsican mountain landscape, staying at a high altitude for nearly two weeks.

I’ll list some of the highlights of the walk and then say a bit about the route we took, landscape, accommodation and supplies, and going in a group with a guide.

Highlights

- Greatest achievement: finishing. It had been my friend Chris’s idea as part of a long celebration of his 60th year. I was pretty apprehensive about doing it but very glad I did.
- Best ascent: Paglia Orba: google it! I did when I came back, not before I went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paglia Orba with the refuge at Ciouttulu in the foreground

Paglia Orba is a really striking mountain (2,500+m) with a pretty technical ascent; Wikipedia says it’s ‘ à la frontière entre la randonnée et l’alpinisme ‘ No way could I have done it without a guide and group.
Scariest moment: top of the ‘Ridge of the Choughs’ (a variant between Caparelle and Vizzavona): long steep way down and no evident route

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ridge of the Choughs

Best view: well how can you choose? But watching the sun go down over the Golfo di Porto from 2000m up on a ridge near Ciottulu di i Mori was sublime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golfo di Porto from 2000 metres:my camera couldn’t really capture the dreamlike quality of the light and layers of cloud and rocks.

 Best day’s walking: ascending Monte Renoso via the ‘Pozzi’ (high plateau with tens of little pools, remains of a glacial lake) and descending by Lac de Bastane. Great views from the top enhanced by swirling clouds and mist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the summit of Monte  Renoso

Best food: Theo’s at Bergerie de Grotelle (at the top of Gorges de la Restonica) by a country mile. The Corsican soup had great chunks of hock in it and the omelette with ricotta-type cheese and mint was sublime

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theo’s omelette

Revelation: dried bananas a popular mid-morning energy booster
Best joke: the toilet door at Refuge d’Asinoa
Nagging fear: a twisted ankle or suchlike especially if it meant being helicoptered off the mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of tricky descents (Cirque de Cascade)

Unexpected bonus: excellence of our guide and the camaraderie and humour of the group

 

 

 

 

 

 

The group at the end of the walk (Coroli, our guide, with the rucksack)

(Slight) disappointment: Cirque de Solitude: pretty busy and threatened by occasional falling stones. As demanding as promised but didn’t live up to its name.

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Cirque de Solitude, route up in middle of picture

Exceeded expectations: the walk itself with its variety, awesome views and truly invigorating sense of space

 

 

 

 

 

 Mountain pool in Manganello valley

Most sensible preparation: getting my feet ready using cream and surgical spirit (not together) in the weeks beforehand. I didn’t though lose the surplus couple of stones that I’d planned to shed.

Our route

The ‘standard’ GR 20 is fifteen days’ walking and traditionally has been done north to south. There is a range of variants, or options, to include different peaks and ridges. Some do a route that includes all the peaks on the way; others aim to complete it in seven days, or even five.

We did a route from south to north. This is more popular now maybe because it builds up to the more exacting stages in the north. To fit into twelve days we cut out one southern and two northern approach stages; starting at Bavella and ending at Haut Asco.

We left Col de Bavella and took the alpine variant over the Aiguilles (needles) of Bavella down into the Asinoa valley, ascending to the refuge de Asinoa.

Next day a stiff ascent  reaching the ridge and then a short climb to the top of Monte Incudine (2134m); there was a meandering descent, across to Croce Berg, on the Plateau of Cuscionu.

A pastoral beginning up to the ‘Arrete des Statues’ a long ridge walk across and down briefly to Refuge d’Usciolu then back to the Col and a tricky, descent to Cozzano.

Next morning a long ascent to the Col de Laparo and then Punta della Capella followed by high level walk past Refuge de Prati and down to Col de Verdi.

Taking an optional variant we  headed up to the Pozzi Monte Renoso (2352m); and descended past Lac de Bastane to Capanelle

Day 6 and another variant; this was a more direct route to Vizzavona over a dramatic, steep sided ridge named Ridge of the Choughs (alpine choughs, similar to crows).

Vizzavona is at the top of the pass that splits north from south and the main Ajjacio toBastia road runs through it. We were now leaving the south for the more testing north.

The first day in the north starts with a brief transfer to the village of Canaglia and a long walk up the Manganellu valley and then  open climbing to refuge of Petra Piana followed by a further ascent to Bacca Muzella, the highest col on the route. Descent by the Cirque du Cascade, fascinating rocks formed by glacial lakes, and down to Bergerie de Grotelle.

Day 8 we went up to Lac de Melo and  Lac de Capitello (46m deep, deepest in Corsica). After that there was further climbing, including crossing snow and some tricky clambering up to the Breche de Capitello (2220m). The descent took us to the Bergerie de Vaccaghie (motto; ‘where time stands still’).

 Day 9 was fairly straightforward, over to Lac de Nino, an ascent of Mte Tozzo and then a ridge walk across to Castel de Vergio. The next day was mainly ascent up the Golo valley up to a high plateau reaching the GR20′s highest refuge, Ciottulu (2000m).

Next morning an early start to go up Paglia Orba (an option) – described above – and then an afternoon walk to Bergeries de Vallon.

The final day: a long ascent to Bocca Minuta; a pause for breath and then down the Cirque de Solitude, across and up to the Col Perdu. Tough going! Celebration at Col Perdu and then down to Haut Asco where our walk ended.

Landscape

Corsica is a middle-sized Mediterranean island (114 by 52 miles at its longest and widest points) and just over a hundred miles south of the French mainland. A granite mountain range cuts across it, from north-west to south. The peaks range up to 2,700 metres with crests and ridges often in the 1,500-2,000 metre range. The mountains are rugged with clear sharp jagged edges, mainly pinkish brown granite that changes colour with the light. There is an enormous sense of space with views across the range and to the sea and neighbouring islands. The light is striking; sharp edges against a clear blue sky mixed sometimes with clouds swirling around; low lying clouds clustering around the coast can lend an ethereal air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low lying clouds over the East coast, seen from the Ridge of the Statues

Whilst the granite peaks and ridges are the dominating feature the landscape is diverse including pastures, lakes and wooded valleys. There are mountain flowers in the crevices between the rocks and a variety of trees (including the endemic Laricio, flat-topped pine), maquis and wild herbs.

Accommodation

Much of the walk consists of remote countryside so accommodation and supplies are sparse. When the route crosses an East-West road there will be a gite, with restaurant, at the col and sometimes it is possible to drop down to the road ending at the head of a gorge where there’ll be a gite or a café/restaurant, including a couple of abandoned ski resorts. Otherwise there is a network of refuges that provide food and accommodation in a communal dorm or small tents dotted around the refuge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bergerie de Vaccaghie: fabulous location but the facilities were ‘basic in every respect’

GR20 is popular, ‘camping sauvage’ is forbidden and the refuges are heaving during the summer months. Supplies come by helicopter or mule.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies being brought to refuge Usciolu

Food is ample (although vegetarians would struggle) and most gites and refuges have a standard meal usually starting with saucisson or soup, and including a meat dish and cheese (often excellent and locally produced.) Beer, wine and soft drinks can be bought although unsurprisingly they’re not cheap; beer is usually six Euros and coke two and half or three. Washing and toilet facilities can be ‘pretty basic’ in the refuges and bergeries but are usually okay in the gites.

The guide and the group

GR 20 can be done independently staying in or bivoucing in refuges or in a group, with or without a guide. Ours was a guided group which meant that our main baggage was – where possible – transported between stops; where not possible we had to carry overnight gear. A good guide makes all the difference and our’s was excellent. Technical skills (all mountain guides have to be qualified) are needed for parts of the route , especially some of the options, finding the route but more negotiating some of the trickier bits. Coroli though also had superb ‘soft skills’ getting people working as a team and judging the pace so that the group didn’t get stretched yet the day’s walk was completed in time. She also negotiated the relations with the guardiens in the refuges and gites so we could concentrate on the walk, and then get some recuperation. There are 30+ guides in Corsica and only five are women.

I guess the group, or team, makes or breaks it. It is about communal living and getting on together and our’s was great; plenty of humour and mutual support made it an all round positive and enjoyable experience.

Conclusion

As you can gather, I’m an enthusiast!

WEA West Midlands: achievements and enduring challenges

It’s ten years since I took up the role of District Secretary of the old WEA West Mercia District. I was in two minds about applying for the job but I ‘m glad I did. I’ve enjoyed doing it and have got a lot out of it despite some stresses and strains along the way. The role (that evolved into Regional Director, West Midlands Region) has been discontinued and I’m taking up a different role as lead Director for two other regions (London and South West) as well as leading across the Association on Curriculum and Planning. Before starting that though I thought I’d do a quick look back, and forward.

In 2002/03, a year after my appointment, the Association was plunged into an institutional crisis as result really of never having come to terms with the massive complexities involved in funding changes introduced in the early 1990’s. We faced a huge budget deficit (£3m+) whilst missing our Learning & Skills Council target and heading (a year later) for a failed inspection. ‘Turnaround’ framed the priorities of the job really up until we had had a successful re-inspection and budgets and targets were on the up. At one level this was fairly straightforward once the senior management changes had taken place. There was a huge desire inside the WEA (and indeed outside) for the WEA to get back on track; the tasks were clear even though the impact was sometimes distressing for individuals and damaged some longstanding work relations.

The next few years were in some ways more of a challenge: improving and developing our work without the strong external constraints of the previous few years. In turn the current situation (defined by the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and the 2010 general election) is more complex; the ‘new paradigm’ creates different pressures for which we ourselves have to find the answers.

So what’s been achieved over the last decade, particularly in the latter, more stable, period and what are the enduring challenges?

Achievements:

- A really good staff team with lots of energy and ideas along with the work ethos needed to build the region over the next ten years
- Agreement amongst staff and volunteers about what we can best offer (our curriculum priorities particularly health, second chance and cultural studies along with trade union learning and ICT) and where and to whom we can offer it. More than agreement, we are making it happen by putting staff and other resources into priority areas
- Unity of purpose and congenial relations between staff and voluntary members, with a very effective officer group providing scrutiny, support and expertise
- A recently history of effective business planning that gives us financial stability and adaptability as well as the capacity (through the projects’ team) to find resources for our curriculum priorities
- Improving communications with a modern website and expanding use of social media helping us work more effectively as a dispersed team and influence external agendas like public health

Enduring challenges

- However hard we try, the communication gaps keep opening up particularly with course tutors and voluntary members. I can’t see much further than plugging away and trying different means to engage with people

- Balancing the need to keep an eye on compliance, volume and continuity with being creative and innovative; a big educational charity like us needs to be known for being unusual and original. Projects have provided the best opportunity for us to do this in recent times. Hopefully I’ll be some use here with my new national responsibility for ‘curriculum and provision’

- Making the sums add up especially now the funding environment is more competitive and everyone is asking for ‘more for less’. There is plenty of financial acumen but it will be a constant struggle to keep costs down and find new sources of funding. It is increasingly important too to demonstrate with evidence the benefits of adult education to individuals and the wider community.

- Membership: succession planning and democracy: two challenges really. Firstly, regional governance and most WEA branches are both heavily dependant upon a small number of dedicated people. Secondly we have several thousand members most of whom joined as part of course enrolment; engagement with at least some of them needs to be thought about. Again perhaps Peter Templeton (who started his WEA life as a volunteer in West Midlands) will come up with some useful ideas here.

So- I think the region is well placed to press ahead in the West Midlands and play an important part in the Association. I shall try to convey what I (we) have learnt elsewhere as well as finding out what staff and member colleagues in London and South West have come up with.

Pete Caldwell

Community ESOL: some ideas for next year

We need to think quickly about how we react to changes in the funding of ESOL provision. For us in West Midlands WEA it’s an important question; we’re talking about more than a thousand learners, a group of committed and talented tutors as well as local partner organisations.

It is likely that mainstream Further Education colleges will increasingly focus on vocational skills and qualifications, particularly at levels 1 and 2. This will create big gaps in provision for Entry level learners (especially L2 and below) and for those whose prime aims are non-vocational.

The WEA is primarily about informal adult learning in a community context. Very few WEA ESOL learners gain qualifications that are in the Qualifications and Credit Framework. Much of our agenda is about learners in a social, family or community context; vital as part of community cohesion and empowerment. We are also concerned with providing tentative first steps for those who may well progress into qualification based learning.

In West Midlands WEA we came up with some ideas below about how we can re-shape our ESOL provision that is currently mainly accredited Entry level skills for life.

 Work in partnership with local organisations such as primary schools and children’ centres to identify need and design programmes

 Concentrate on speaking and listening; these are the skills most in demand in the groups we mostly work with

 Customise the curriculum to address a variety of needs: personal, social and community development as well as gateways into employability. Short contextualised courses are the best way forward

 Streamline the assessment strategy: maintain individual plans and make them outcome based

 Make plenty of use of ‘applied’ learning activities such as visits rather than making provision too class room based

 Draw on the creativity and experience of tutors to develop a lively and relevant provision

 Improve links and partnerships with FE colleges so that there are clear and supported routes into the skills and qualification framework

 Introduce cost efficiency savings to ensure programme viability: increase average class size, limit accredited offer to speaking and listening, seek partners’ contribution to costs and review the fee structure

This is an initial list of ideas to provoke discussion as part of planning for next year. Your thoughts are welcome.

Why I like projects

It’s often struck me that when people in adult education talk about something of which they’re particularly proud, it’s usually a ‘project’. By project I mean a specifically focused piece of work, usually time limited and planned and funded separately from the ‘mainstream’. What is it about project work that makes it special?

• A project provides the opportunity to do something a bit out of the ordinary in terms of beneficiary group, and subject matter 
•  The bidding and planning methodology usually focus on needs and outcomes as opposed to the mainstream drivers of volume, retention and success rates, and Ofsted standards. I realise project methodologies vary but I have in mind here those like the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities where the focus is on the impact upon individuals and communities.
•  There is usually extra money and often new people brought in as well as the chance to work with additional partner organisations

For the organisation there is a welcome element of risk, competition and innovation; rather than the ‘same old, same old’. Projects offer the chance of some additional resources in exchange for investment and risk taking. Even the short-term nature of project funding can have pluses; it forces a look at exit strategies: accepting that some things haven’t worked out, some can continue in other ways and others provide a source of refreshment for the mainstream.

Of course it’s not all one way. Voluntary organisations that depend wholly upon project funding find it too unstable and smaller ones are unable to establish an effective infrastructure to support project bidding and management. Organisations really need a mix of core and project funding in order to operate effectively. My reason for writing this is to ask whether we oughtn’t to be re-drawing the boundaries between mainstream and projects and include elements of project methodology in our mainstream activities. The potential benefits in this would include:

•  The encouragement of bottom-up innovation acknowledging that top-down curriculum development has limited impact in adult education. Effective and well supported peer group collaboration can of course help provide sharing of good practice and ‘scaling up’.
• A methodology that starts from assessment of need and proceeds to evidence of outcomes is more relevant to the current policy environment in two ways. Firstly it suits outcome based funding and secondly it fits with the notion of localism. Such an approach would provide consistency of method with the flexibility (indeed the necessity) to tailor educational activities to the needs of particular community. It could also address a range of outcomes, such as personal development and community action as opposed to standardised outputs such as retention and pass rates.

So to end with two questions:

1. Can project methodology be used for curriculum planning within an organisation such as the WEA? This could involve taking a chunk of provision and planning it as a project with a set of outcomes arising from community needs and a budget including both core funding and that from other pots? This, it seems to me would refresh curriculum development and encourage us to look more thoroughly at learner needs and how we met them, rather than the organisation’s needs.
2. Secondly, given that BIS is currently reviewing the way Informal Adult Community Learning (IACL) funds are allocated, should we not argue that funding includes a ‘project stream’ as well as other allocations. Again this seems a suitable way to encourage a localised, innovative and multi-faceted within an accountable framework.

What do you think?